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Mom investigated for letting her kids walk alone: 'We're just doing what our parents did'

After being investigated by authorities for letting her children play in local parks unsupervised and walk home alone, a Maryland woman told TODAY she and her husband aren't doing anything out of the ordinary from their own upbringing. "We're amazed this has become a national conversation because we're just doing what our parents did or [what] was considered perfectly normal just one generation a

After being investigated by authorities for letting her children play in local parks unsupervised and walk home alone, a Maryland woman told TODAY she and her husband aren't doing anything out of the ordinary from their own upbringing. 

"We're amazed this has become a national conversation because we're just doing what our parents did or [what] was considered perfectly normal just one generation ago,'' Danielle Meitiv told Willie Geist Monday. "I think what's really unfortunate is that we're really overestimating the danger and underestimating our children."

Danielle and her husband, Alexander, have been visited by local police and child protective services on two separate occasions since October after police received anonymous phone calls about their son Rafi, 10, and daughter Dvora, 6, walking home together unsupervised from a park a mile from their home. The family has another meeting with child protective services scheduled for this week. 

More from Meitiv: 

  • On driving children around: "In fact, what's really sad, is that by driving our kids instead of letting them walk, we're actually endangering them more because the No. 1 cause of death for children this age are actually car accidents,'' she said. "Letting children walk is not only good for their health, it's actually safer." 
  • On meeting with child protective services: "They actually threatened my husband,'' she said. "They said, 'Here's a temporary plan, you have to agree to have the children supervised at all times until we can follow up with you.' And he said, 'I don't want to sign this without talking to a lawyer or talking to my wife,' and she said, 'If you don't sign this, we are going to take the children right now,' and she called the police.'' 
The Meitiv family.
The Meitiv family.Today

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